the budget. brought in one million. david: money with adam shapiro is right now. >> i'm adam shapo in for melissa francis. here's what is money

tonight. t the last minute panic begin of the president obama is set to fly back to washington in the next few urs to tr to scrape out a fiscal cliff deal but hope is fading fast. if that weren't bad enough, the treasury now says the u.s. will hit the debt ceiling on new year's eve. will this be a game-changer for reaching a deal? plus as if the fiscal cliff wasn't bad enough, now critical ports across the u.s. could be brought to a standstill starting this weekend. we'll explain how a looming union worker strike could sink businesses across the united states. the major sports leagues do a touchdown dance after a federal judge's ruling. their lawsuit to spike sports gambling in new jersey get as crucial green light but new jersey isn't taking it sitting down. details how that state is fighting back and preparing to give vegas a run for its money. even when they say it's not, it's always about money

adam: thank you for joining us. we want to look first at the day's market headlines. stocks slid for the 30 straight session. mediocre holiday seas and deadlock over fiscal cliff gave investors little to get excited about. the dow fell 24 points. the so-called fear index or the vix, soaring more than 4%. fiscal cliff concerns pushed the index to the highest level since july. one bright spot though was on the housing fnt. the monthly case-shiller report found october home prices rose 4.3% mpared with a year earlier. the data giving a late sign of recovery in the housing market is actually gaining traction. first our top story, president obama, cutting his vacation short, flying back to washington, d.c. tonight to work on afiscal cliff deal. now, if the stakes weren't high enough, the treasury department upped ante just a short time ago. it announced the u.s. will hit the debt ceiling on

december 31st that is monday. treasury department is undertaking and this is a quote, extraordinary measures to postpone the country's date with the debt deadline, but will this bring a new sense of urgency and motivate politicians to reach a budget deal. joining us now, lindsey piegza, economist with ftn financial and james freeman, assistant editor of "the wall street journal"'s editorial page. james, i will art with you. does the treasury department's statement literally within the last hour we'll hit the debt ceiling deadline on monday, does that add any kind of motivation they need to get their act together in washington? >> i don't know. i think it might just add a little skepticism. you remember when we went through this at 2011. they had various dates, finally months into it in august they said this is the real deadline. knowing the treasury and president obama have been wanting to get a debt ceiling increase along with the fiscal cliff deal i think some lawmakers will be skeptical whether next week

is really the drop-dead date. adam: it sound a littleit conspiratorial perhaps. lindsey, let me go back to you. fiscal cliff will be only thing we talk about until they go over or we get a deal. what are the chances do we get a deal? will they go over? >> less hand 50% chance at best. remember the president doesn't really have any motivation to concede to a deal unless he can tell his base he was able to raise taxes on the rich. on flipside the republicans will not concede to a deal unless they were able to tell their base they were able to make a discern isable dent in spending. both side are too far apart and they're both comfortable digging in their heels and saying we'll see what happen adam: dan henninger was on the varney show this morning. do you think we'll hit recession if we go over the cliff. probably not. we'll muddle along. do you want to counter your boss? >> he would no more than i

do about this. i think whether it is january 1 or a few days later that's not the issue. it is does the united states take a turn toward fiscal sanity in terms of restraining spending while allowing the economy to grow and not having a tax policy that hurts it. so the deal could come at any time. if you want to be optimistic i think republicans are realizing how much leverage they have with the sequester. these are automatic spending cuts. the obama doesn't want them. this is leverage point for republicans. adam: you're an economist. we're journalists and we're only good for free drinks. are we going over the cliff? >> i think it is undeniable the economy falls into recession if we do go over the fiscal cliff. even chairman bernanke was very clear on this point telling everyone if the economy goes over the fiscal cliff even the fed itself does not have you have enough tools to go over against the impact. in terms of lack of

investment and in terms of businesses closing their doors and remaining sidelined still for quarters going into 2013. adam: well, lindsey, you again are an economist. which is worse, the spending cut from the sequestration or the tax increase? which hits us, 310 million of us are american citizens. which hits us worse? >> well generally when we talk about the difference between spending cuts or tax increases you have to think of taxes as having 1 1/2 times the impact because what that does, there is a trickle down, in fact. we pull out the dollars from investment that would otherwise go to growing businesses investing in equipment, capital and additional employees. right now that is the biggest impact we're not seeing businesses expand and absorbing out that additional labor supply sitting stagnant on the market right now. that is the biggest implication. that is not what we're going to see. adam: james, if i'm hearing her correctly the tax increases are far worse than the spending cuts. do you agree? >> in terms of economic growth there is no doubt, it is really tax cliff we ought to worry about

looks attacks on dividends going from 15% today to 43.4% at top right -- rate if you include the new obamacare tax. i think it is very clear that's what politicians ought to be focused on and i don't see imminent recession either but we need growth if we're going to pay any of these bills. to do that you have to have a tax system that doesn't punish it. adam: james and lindsey, one quick question. i will start with james. lindsey i will let you have the last word. what do they need to do? how do you give speaker boehner an exit and give the president an exit and tell these people to play nice in the sandbox and get over it. >> am i going first? adam: you go ahead. >> the sequester is leverage point. for a while therepublicans seemed this was their problem they need to fix. now they're viewing it as president's problem. he likes to spend. maybe you get a very good tax deal with that as the lerage. adam: lindsey. >> honestly i don't think it make as difference. the conversation we're having in washington is so

disingenuous. talking about 100 trillion in unfunded liabilities and we're arguing 800 billion in tax increases on 2% of the population we're still not asking tough questions of the middle last. i don't think it matters whether president's plan or republicans plan i don't think it is imagine. adam: i'm shocked you would imply anybody in washington would ever be disingenuous. lindsey and james, thank you very much. we'll talk about the fiscal cliff ad knaus see yum. that's what we do when you're talking about the economy. appreciate you both being here. it is the fiscal cliff gridlock which is helping to suck the holiday cheer out of many shoppers. a new report says u.s. holiday sales climbed just .7 of a percent over last year. that is their slowest rate of growth since 2008 when the recession was in full force but are people just temporarily stuffing their money in the mattress due to the fisl cliff? or is this the start of a long-term spending halt by consumers? joining us to discuss all of this is retail analyst. we appreciate you being here.

we were reporting about this today on the fox business network. one i think it was mastercard spending pulse saying it actually not the fiscal cliff, it was superstorm sandy. >> right. adam: at the end. day are consumers pulling back? doesn't matter if it was the storm or fear they're pulling back, right. >> that was a real good point you made. mastercard said this these numbers were becoming a concern for the consumer back in october. the national retail federation had projected holiday sales would go up about 4.1%. adam: yep. >> that is some growth but it is nowhere near the 5.6% we saw lt year. there is a little bit of a slowdown. also we have to look at the consumer sentiment numbers. it is coming in at the month of december around 72 points. that is 10 points less than at its high in july. so we're definitely seeing that consumer slowdown happen even way before the fourth quarter. adam: you're with therf. you're with the national retail federation, are you not. >> no. i'm an independent analyst. adam: excuse me.

a lot of people like the nrf but what are the repercussions whether for the nrf or anybody? nrf, they're sticking to it. they're not revising their predictions. shoppertrak, spending pulse says. what are projections going forward? 20 to 40% of reta busines is earned in the who day shopping season of their revenue. so what happens in 2013 if it is as bad as we think it might be? >> to give you an idea, right, macy's provides guidance going forward into 2013. a lot of other retailers provide guidance due to the potential slowdown. in addition, macy's, kohl's, jcpenney revised their guidance when it came to same-store sales. give you an idea, macy's for holiday sales, 2011, 59% of their sales came from holiday sales. accounts for a lot a macy's. for them to revise guidance this slowdown is going to happen. it is not only happening now but it will be happening well into 2013. adam: i mean the orders for

next season, for christmas they place those in the spring, do they not? >> right. adam: will we see a slowdown in orders? will we see pullback in production because of what happened this holiday season? >> i think what retailers are trying to do is get rid of inventory in the stores right now. if you walk around you will see 70 to 80% off a lot of that product because they anticipated that customer to come in and spend it during the season. that's not happening. but will they revise their, their buy pattern for next year? that remains to be seen especially what happens with the fiscal cliff. we've been talking about this a lot. adam: does it play into consumer sentment? >> absolutely. people have really revised their shopping budgets based on that. if you think about it, the average american will be hit with a bill somewhere between 1000 and $2,000. that is lot of money for the average american. adam: i have a very selfish question here. if all the retailers are desperate to clear inventory why doesn't kenneth cole put a sale on its wallets? leather llets, no discount,

offering 0 to 60%. >> kenneth cole is at macy's. i'm sure they have massive discount. adam: i appreciate you being here. let's hope these numbers are more accurate with the nrf but not the revisions everybody is giving. we know tailers are working hard. we don't want to see them get hurt. we'll turn our attention to gas prices. they have plunged to the lowest levels in 12 months but that relief with drivers may be going out with the new year and we'll tell you why next. plus a top syrian again defects to the rebels claiming the assad regime is using chemical weapons. has the u.s.'s so-called red line for intervention been crossed? more "money" is coming up. you can bank on it. ♪

adam: drivers have something to be cheerful about this holiday season. gas costs are guzzling less and less of your money. prices have been tumbling and at their lowest level in a year according to the latest lundberg survey but some experts are warning the good times could be coming to an end. joining me with more what could happen in the new year,

oscar carbone, welcome back to medical list seas program. i'm filling in for her. i will challenge you here. six months ago we were creaming $5 gasoline and it never happened. so what do you think? are gas prices keeping going down or i think you believe gas prices are going up? >> there are two schools of thought. first gasoline prices have been cheap lately over the past few weeks. we had a huge build-up in stocks, gasoline stocks. we had the price of gas come down a little bit but what you will find i'm a very technical trader and the charts tell us seasonally that the crude oil orders for gasoline in this case will rally between november and may every year. last year, for instance, during 2012 we rallied from november to march up to 344. adam: okay. >> and the gasoline. but 12 ven we went up to 3.48. we're standing at 2.80.

it could rally to 3.40 over next few months. adam: surely you must be kidding and i won't call you shirley. let me challenge you on the charts. we're not seei that rally. there are things indicating economically this could be bad news going into 2013. no motivation to push gas prices or oil prices higher. >> well, i will say if you want to look down the road, i'm bearish person when it comes to gasoline and oil and natural gas because of how much we have in this country and how much we've just found recently plus shale. but tt's longer term. the shorter term you absotely have a seasonal tendency to rally this time of year. it seems it has started already. and ilways go with the technicals because they seem to know where the market is going to go much before the street find out. use your charts and you will see there's a seasonal tendency to spike this time of year, leading into march. then it comes off. adam: what kind of fluctuations will we see? i know it depends, most expensive gasoline is in the chicago area.

what kind of fluctuations will we see? maybe if you know, region by region? ho will get hit the worst, who will suffer the least? >> i would say you first look at the gasoline market itself where we buy it on the open market. that i believe trades between $2.50 and $3.50 for the most of 2013. now, if you want to see what that equates to at the pump, you can easily add from what i've seen on the west coast you can add 20 to 3 cents to that. if you want to look at the east coast you can add a little bit more. they're more expensive there. i just came back from the east coast and was paying 60 cents more a gallon when i filled up my car. so i think the west coast would be cheaper. adam: you talked about surplus of gasoline. 2.2 million barrels in stock from the latest eia report. what would drive price of oil up? more problems in syria? we'll talk about that in a minute? would it be chinese demand? palestinian-israeli

conflict? what will be the black swan event in oil? >> i think we're becoming numb what happens in the middle east until they rattle their sabre about closing down the straits. seems the u.s. is numb about the news coming out of the moo e. i don't knoy the middle east all by itself will get the rally going. you will have demand coming this year. remember we had hurricane sandy right around a busy driving season, wipe out so many people they couldn't even get in their cars to drive if the cars still worked. whole northeast coast if you ask me took down a lot of gasoline usage which should pick up come the new year. i'm expecting prices will move to their seasonal 1010 sis on the upside and then back down. other thing you have if you're a technical trader a huge head and shoulders bearish formation in the crude market. gasoline of course is by-product of crude. the crude came down from the head and shoulders formation and took the price of gasoline with it as it's a by-product of the main crude, the main product.

you would expect those prices to drop if crude dropped which crude did do over the past couple months. adam: oscar you talk about head and shoulders. i'm a neutral gina guy, i'm making a joke about shampoo. if i hearing correctly i think people might want to play the game, i think it is a dangerous game to play commodities if you don't know what you're doing, you have to be someone like you, get in now but get out prices by march, would you ree with that. >> absolutely agree with that scenario. adam: for the drivers out there let's hope the price of gas doesn't get out of line. oscar, have a great evening. >> thank you. adam: time for the fuel gauge report where we break down the biggest headlines affecting the energy indust. natural gas futures broke a two-day losing streak. brutal blizzard is raising the ouook for natural gas demand. forecasters say cold tempatures will likely linger the next 10 days. united arab emirates and saudi arabian officials have arrested a members of a

sophisticated terror cell. the group reportedly acquired equipment and materials to conduct attacks across the persian gulf. kurdistan is suspending all of its oil exports. its regional government says iraq's central government has underpaid its share of export revenue. the export halt affects about 100 thousand barrels of crude every day. terrorist cell arrests and shiftdown hurt oil futures as they hit a two-month high. crude settled up more than 2 1/2%, closing at $90.98 a barrel. we'll turn our attention attention to something less economic oriented but something certainly important. that's syria. one of syria's top generals defected alleging chemical weapons are being used by the assad regime against rebels. has the u.s.'s red line for intervention been crossed? details coming up on that. thousand of union dock workers could bring ports across the gulf coast and eastern seaboard to a

standstill starting this weekend. details how that could shipwreck busissesacross the united states coming up. do you ever have too much money? i think not. ♪

adam: a top syrian general stunning the assad regime defecting to the side of the bels. in a videotaped statement that general claims assad's forces used chemical weapons against syrian citizens. the rebels, president obama has said in the past, their use is a red line that would force the u.s. to intervene in the crisis. so has that red line been crossed? joining us for insight on the potential fallout is walid phares, fox news middle east terrorism analyst. thank you for joining us. >> sure. adam: how serious do we take this general's statement? he was at the top of the assad regime's command. he would know, wouldn't he?

>> of course he would. he is a general. any statement made by high-ranking official of the regime has to be taken seriously. but again the united states and international community needs evidence. that would be evidence by photography, statements from the victims or having medical staff interviewing or seeing the victims to be able to determine that. but we know the assad regime has those weapons. we also know that the opposition would like to draw us into the fight. we have to be very careful when we hear and look at these issues. adam: two big issues right there. syria on the board he have of israel, says there is no proof syria has used chemical weapons on their own people as of yet. why would israel even get involved with just a statement like that? what is their skin in this game? >> it is very important for the israelis. the next victim or the next target of a use of these weapons after the syrians themselves eitherpy the regime, by the allies of the regime to deflect attention

would be israel or by other radical groups inside syria who would say look, we're using weapons against israelis, both sides in syria may be tempted to use them against israel. israel is sending a warning inside syria, saying we know exactly what is happening. actually they do have a lot ofntelligence inside syria. this statement is mostly a warning to those who have weapons in their hands. adam: we don't have any hard evidence that chemical weapons have been used but i do believe it was al jazeera reported there were victims who suffered temporary blindness. there were chemical burns. didn't they report that chemical weapons had been used and wouldn't that be sufficient? >> yes, adam i saw that, i saw tt a couple hours after it did happen. there was a feed uplink from the rebel's position to al jazeera. that's what they do all day, to report what is happening on the ground. i saw soldiers saying we have been hit by something very strange. i didn't see any, al evidence that th was happening. so if i'm, a medical doctor

or an expert i would take this as a lead. i don't have yet the evidence this has en used. adam: you mentioned the rebels were trying to draw in the united states or at least international forces. what is assad's red line? what-pt question. what is his red line if he is not using chemical weapons would he be monstrous enough to start using them? the second question is international community giving him an exit. offering him a place, go get out, here's where you go? >> let me begin with the first, most delicate one, that is being debated, what is the strategy of the assad regime with regard to use of wdms of all sorts. they have missiles that could deliver tm far away from syria. inside syr, assad niece if we use them and we see them there will be international action against him. he will be put out. but if he is attacked in damascus, the palace is surround and wanted to break out and leave and may use it against the rebels for that purpose.

second more important possibility, if he flees damascus he will not quit syria immediately. he will go to the northwestern part of syria where he has an enclave, his own community. if that enclave is attacked most likely he may be using wmds or chemical or biological weapons. am: very quickly, is anyone from the international community saying go to venezuela, go here, just get out? >> a lot of them. only country would be trust would be protected by iranian regime. he doesn't feel he has yet to go. none of the two major cities, aleppo or damascus has fallen yet. so he will continue that fight. adam: walid, thanks for joining us. in addition to the fiscal issues we have to watch the situation. doesn't feel like a economic story could economic impacts on whole variety of issues including the not only human element but the economic element. >> thank you. adam: massive strike looms for east and gulf coast ports. how a stalemate between the u.s. and economy on the

rock. that is coming up. new jersey is betting it can legalize sports gambling. a federal judge's ruling could be calling that state's bluff. "piles of money" coming up. ♪ .

♪ . adam: i think bob dylan but

i'm not sure that would date me, wouldn't it. yes it was bob dylan. now it could be the east coast and the gulf coast as well. the longshoreman's union is threatening to go on strike and analysts say it could be catastrophic for the fragile u.s. economy. 15 ports along the gulf and eastern seaboard could shut down in the next four days. as we speed toward the fiscal cliff, that is the last thing businesses nationwide need to threaten their bottom lines. here to explain what is at stake, jonathan gold, vice president of the national retail federation. thanks for joining us. last time we faced something like this, 2002, it took six months for u.s. economy to recover. the ports on the west coast were only closed for 10 is that accurate? >> adam, thanks very much for having me on. yes, the last time we had coast wide shut down was 2002. there was 10-day lockout. took six months to recover from. most economists say that lockout cost the u.s. economy about a billion dollars a day.

adam: the number is anywhere 14 to 15,000 longshoremen essentially from portland, maine, down to houston. what does that mean to the u.s. economy? seems we're talking about far more ports than we were in 2002? >> correct, it could be a fairly significant hit on the u.s. economy. everybody who relies on ports, importers, exporters, manufacturers,armers, agricultural exporters, trucking companies, all these industries rely on ports to move the nation's commerce. if the ports shut down, that means nothing moves in or out and essentially that will impact the economy. adam: so the deadline is this weekend. they would go on strike this weekend. last i saw weren't they going to meet with a mediator? is there a way to avert this? will it take action by congress to intervene? >> at this point the two sides are expected to meet the federal mediator at some point between december 29th. we don't know when and where the meeting will take place. at this point we need the president to step in to assure both sides stay at table to continue to

negotiate without engaging in supply chain disruptions. adam: can the president take legal action ordering them to stay own the job? >> he can. the only real authority is president invoke the authority under taft-hartley act which is what president bush did in 2002 after 10 days. adam: the damage after a few days seems like it would be immense the way you described the supply chain. we would have essentially a dead halt. like hitting a brick wall. >> that is correct. we're still trying to figure out what the impact was from the eight-day strike at ports of los angeles and long beach. we're still cleaning up from that. obviously would have much more impact if you havehe full east coast and gulf coast go down because of a shutdown. adam: i believe it has to do with partial capping how much longshoremen are paid for weight of certain cargos they unload the operators want to cap it. the longshoremen do not want to cap it. is there room for a settlement before we hit the deadline? >> we really hope there is. there are a lot of issues

still on the table between both side that need to be diussed. the continued royalty issues is the latest issue that has come up. really the only way to make ogress and get a new deal is for parties to stay at table and continue to negotiate and work with federal mediator as they have been doing for the past 90 days. adam: i'm curious if you have, i would call them off the record sources, background sources on either side. are they indicating to you they will reach a deal or get ready for bad? >> neither side is really talking. we've only seen what we've seen in the press. when they walked off last week all signs pointed a strike happening once the contract expired. we're encouraged that the two side are going to sit down with a federal mediator. we don't know at this point in time. adam: do you think the union appreciates the devastation that they could wreak whether they're right or wrong if their attempts at a new contract, that what this would do to the u.s. economy should they go on strike? >> we hope they do. i think over the summer they realized their jobs are

really dependent upon the trade that moves in and out of the united stat. the impact of the ports shutting down again is not just localized to port but nationwide on everybody else who relies on the ports to move the nation's commerce. adam: jonathan gold, supply chain and customs policy for the national retail federation. thanks for being with us on this wednesday evening. >> thanks very much. adam: a high-stakes lawsuit by the nfl, the nba and other major sports leagues get a key green light from a federal judge. how it could bring legalized sports gambling in new jersey to a screeching halt and how the garden state is preparing to fight back. that is coming up next. at the end of the day it is always about money. excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to wer down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance,

pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click ay with our free mobile app.

♪ . adam: talk about throwing a curveball at sports betting? a federal judge has ruled major sports leagues and the ncaa can sue new jersey to block its legalization of sports betting. now they claim letting people bet on sports in new jersey will cause serious damage to their respective sport but my next guest couldn't disagree more. with me is the meadowlands racetrack. welcome to you, sir. just to give people

background on this, four years ago, new jersey decided to challenge federal law because the federal law i think prohibits gambling on sports in several states other than nevada and three others which were grandfathered in. very simplest form the new jersey case seems as well if you allowed it in four states, why not just allow it everywhere? >> i think that is exactly right. that's the argument. why should the federal government ban something in new jersey that's allowed in nevada. adam: right. >> it is illogical. adam: along comes the nfl, the nba, different sports leagues and they say no, no, no. you can't allow betting on our games in it was the nba in new jersey. that will give perception the games are fixed and we're not up and up kinds of people, right? and the judge agreed? >> i think the judge came to the conclusion somehow it would harm the leagues. i don't think anyone thinks it is necessarily means it

is fixed. what everyone wants, everyone bets illegally other than in navy. adam: not here. people to do this all the time. >> estimate 300 to $500 million is bet illegally in the u.s. if you took 5% of that, that means there are $150 million going somewhere and not going to taxable businesses. it is not going to create jobs. it is going somewhere. and i think the nfl, i an that's where, most of the money is bet on football. i guess what they're saying, if somebody drop as pass in the end zone with two seconds to go, and it looks fishy, as long as it is illegal there is nothing you can do about it, you can't complain. adam: it might harm the reputation of the nfl going forward. >> exactly. adam: so the judge's ruling isn't a ruling on the merits. it is just you may proceed? >> yeah. i think most people expect that ultimately the, we've

got to see what does is the federal government going to do? the judge sfwaf the federal government january 20th to intervene. adam: we know how good the federal government is in meeting deadlines. >> exactly. adam: no. >> no one knows if they will intervene. there is federal law that prohibits this. adam: they would have to intervene and say, na, na. >> they would need to become a party, we're opposed to this because it is violation of federal law. adam: we don't have someone from the different sports franchises with us right now but let me ask you, what's the case to make it? it seems like a legitimate concern on their part that they don't want the brand tarnished in any way. they have been through betting scandals in the past. major league baball had them a couple times. >> but ty're just, you know, if you watch the nfl pregame shows and all of the shows they all talk about the line. they have injury reports that are only mainly of interest to someone who is a

gambler. they do everything they can basically to make it clear that they anticipate that people are betting illegally and then they throw up their hand and say, well, if they're betting illegally, that is, we didn't tell them to do that. what, the country's in trouble. why wouldn't we want to get this $15 billion. adam: tax it. >> tax it. adam: sound like t scene in casablanca where the inspector says, i'm shock, shocked, to find out about gambling in this establishment. and ear here is your winning. >> it is hypocritical. adam: what do you think happens. >> at the end of the day supreme court will decide this. if the federal government wants to intervene my guess it goes to the supreme court and they have to decide under the constitutionan you allow something in nevada and not allow it in new jersey if the people in new jersey voted for it? basically there was a referendum in new jersey and that was approved by two to one where the people said, yes we want sports betting. so. adam: they allow some things in nevada not appropriate

for family hour that i don't think people in new jersey want but we won't go there. last word on this this won't happen anytime soon. how many years out are we talking? >> i think you're probably right altugh it is possible. monmouth park is talking about getting started and waiting to see what happens but i tend to agree this will end up in the courts. it probably looking a year or two down the road. adam: we will have you back in 2015. how does that sound. >> sound good. adam: all the best to you. >> thanks, adam. adam: how about an extra shot of advocacy with your morning latte? starbucks brews up a bold campaign to get a deal done on the fiscal cliff. details are coming up next. you can never have too much money and a damn good cup of joe. ♪ .

♪ . adam: not so beautiful if you're caught in a blizzard hitting part of the country but that's another story. time for a little fun with spare change. we are joined today by fox ne contributor julie roginsky and our ownennis kneale. first up, if you love country, i don't know if you guys are starbks people -- >> i am. adam: dennis are you starbucks? too bitter. >> you're too sweet. adam: starbucks wants to send a message to lawmakers, notice i ignored that one. message to lawmakers about the fiscal cliff. they're using coffee cups to do the job.

the ceo at starbucks is urging starbucks workers and employees in the washington, d.c. area to write on the cups, come together, come together right now. i guess quoting the beatles. thursday and friday. dennis, what do you think?. >> that should fix it. that's all we needed. either conjures up very old beatles cliche or elusive quest in the bedroom. they should cut spending or raise taxes on rich and let people vote. >> like the big gulp. cut taxes or --. adam: i feel like i need a cigarette. >> come together. oh that has been the problem. they're not just coming together. like a baseball metaphor and coming to the mound tell the pitcher to throw strikes. >> you are too bitter for starbucks. adam: you were consultant on the hill. >> i was. adam: both sides, the american people are just sick to death of this discussion. >> you could not be more right. by the way, before you come together, come back to d.c. john boehner, come on.

adam: won't you come home, john boehner, won't you come home. >> these guys are off in their districts, hawaii, sipping my ties with melissa francis. adam: she is in south florida. >> let's get back to work. adam: check this out. this is the world's longest high-speed rail line which stretches 1400 miles in china. takes passengers from beijing, to, i can't say that name. thank you. me and pronounciations. i can barely get shapiro right. before the train existed the travel time was twrept hours between the two cities. now it only takes eight hours. will we ever see something like this in the united states? julie, do we need it? is it relevant for high-speed rail in the united states? >> for those of us who ride the corridor for every stuck up. adam: faster sometimes to go on the regular train. >> i love this. apparently if we had the high-speed rail, new york to d.c., god knows why you want to go to d.c. under hour

which i love. americans love their cars. adam: bingo. >> china doesn't have competitive airline industry. we've got rival airlines that make it cheaper. adam: study said, i recall this a year ago, pointed out putting money united states is investing in high-speed rail into fixing our highways and creating different kinds of fueling spots, if you want to go electric would be far better use of the money than building high-speed rail. >> exactly. >> we have transportation trust fund's cross this country are broke. new jersey, for example, broke. you can't fix the roads. before we even get, i'm -- >> as for china also, you tell me. this is country still has le in its paint. ends up accidentally poisoning children with milk formula. i'm not riding that train. i'm not trusting them. adam: they have problems with high-speed train last year. >> people were killed. adam: on the other hand it is pretty cool. >> this is awesome. adam: cool factor, they get the technological award, don't they. >> yeah. >> that is the problem.

they're good pioneering this stuff. okay it will take me 3 1/2 hours to get to d.c.. adam: if you have good tunes. all right. moving onto something something that is much prettier i. the boss fired this woman because he thought she was irreese sisable. court said it is okay for the boss to fire a worker pro being too attractive. >> how are you still working here, dennis? how were you not fired yet? the story is infuriates me. adam: work station, you don't need coffee. >> can't you fire somebody for being ugly? >> can fire any reason other than discriminatory. the problem with this case, we had a lawyer on talk about it, tamara holder, they file a very narrow claim for sex gender discrimination and filed with harrassment. she worked for him for 10 years and only now fire her for being irresistable.

you have to fire in three months. >> it is not the guy. the wife. you've been text-messaging her, get rid of her, she is too hot. the dummy hsband pleads to it. adam: my people the jews have a word for this thing. we can't say what that means on air. >> she has sex appeal. adam: self-restraint can lead to serious health problems like, high blood pressure and increased parkinson's disease. releasing negative emotions and fiery avoids the issues and adds to your life. dennis. >> i will live a lot longer. if you have more outbursts you should live longer than two extra years. i'm going for five extra years. adam: nothing like outburst getting upstairs on subway and people are going slow, and you're like, come on, come on!. >> this is protected class. this is good for my health. adam: we won't last long.

>> my knew years resolution ask more what i really want and tell people my real feelings. that is where i'm going. >> very in touch with your feelings. someone is spending time in theirpy. adam: feelings are like treasures and you should bury them. december 30th a new show, called, the united states of bacon will premier on destination america. the new show will follow chef todd fischer's travels across america insearch of best bon dishes. he eats, bacon apple pie and chunky bacon peanut butter. word he will have a heart transplant in an hour. >> there is bacon shaving cream. adam: nothing says loving like bacon. >> i favor of bacon necklace when you go bike riding. >> bacon infused bar in new york. it is best thing i ever had. i can't even talk anymore. adam: julie and dennis, thank you for joining us. we're going to have to